Washington DC - President Donald Trump on Thursday posted an election conspiracy video with racist depictions of former presidential couple Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys, drawing condemnation from prominent Democrats.

Near the end of a one-minute-long video posted on Trump's Truth Social platform, the Obamas are shown with their faces superimposed on the bodies of monkeys for about one second.

The song The Lion Sleeps Tonight plays in the background when the Obamas appear.

The video repeats false allegations that ballot-counting company Dominion Voting Systems helped steal the 2020 election from Trump.

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As of early Friday morning, the video had been liked several thousand times on the president's social media platform.

The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the post.

"Disgusting behavior by the President. Every single Republican must denounce this. Now," his press office account posted on X.

Ben Rhodes, a former top national security advisor and close confidant to Barack Obama, also expressed his disgust.

"Let it haunt Trump and his racist followers that future Americans will embrace the Obamas as beloved figures while studying him as a stain on our history," he wrote on X.

In the first year of his second term in the White House, Trump ramped up his use of AI videos on Truth Social and other platforms, often glorifying himself while mocking his critics.

Last year, he posted a clip showing Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office and appearing behind bars in an orange jumpsuit.

Later, he posted a racist video of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries – who is Black – wearing a fake mustache and a sombrero.